China’s Faltering Economy Hits Australia’s Bottom Line

China’s imports have fallen 3.9 percent in defiance of analysts’ predictions. That’s going to impact Australia’s company tax receipts and the entire budget.

Containers are loaded onto delivery trucks after being unloaded off a cargo ship at Tianjin port in Tianjin, China, on June 26, 2008. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Declining demand in China is having an immediate impact on Australia’s budget, with the mid-year budget update expected to show that forecast company tax receipts have been downgraded for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

According to data from the country’s customs authority, China’s exports and imports fell well short of expectations in November. Imports defied analysts’ predictions, declining by 3.9 percent against expectations of a 0.3 percent rise, the worst performance in nine months.